Ask Our Alumni!

~ what recent alums say about the program ~

Claire White (2011)

I am the Education and Outreach Coordinator at theNantucket Historical Associationin Massachusetts. I first began working for the Nantucket Historical Association as
my internship in the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina. I
became a seasonal employee there after I finished my degree, and I was promoted to
my current position a year later.

I grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and Las Vegas, Nevada. I chose to attend the University
of South Carolina for its reputation, its location on the East Coast, and the assistantship
opportunities. I wanted a school that provided funding for assistantships that were
consistent with my future employment aspirations. I completed my bachelor's degree
in both history and secondary education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and
I took a year off before pursuing graduate school (which I highly recommend as a way
to refine your career goals). During college, I worked at the Liberace Museum in Las
Vegas as a tour guide and archivist's assistant, and I also had experience in digital
archiving.

Some of my most useful public history experiences at South Carolina included serving
on a project team charged with reinterpreting one ofHistoric Columbia Foundation's propertiesdeveloping my own interpretive text panels for an exhibit at theMcKissick Museumand writing a series of different labels for the same objects every week as part of
a museums course (a classroom exercise that taught me a lot about material culture
and historical interpretation). I also had a very valuable assistantship during my
second year in the program, working with public school teachers through the "Teaching
American History" project at theSouth Carolina Department of Archives and History.

After majoring in history, Spanish and international studies at the University of
Oregon, I worked for several years as an English language teacher in South Korea and
in nonprofit development before returning to graduate school. I decided to attend
the University of South Carolina for several reasons, including the opportunity to
participate in theEngland Field School,the possibility for an assistantship with a public history institution, the certificate
programs, and the reputation of the program. Finally, as a person who had lived in
Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, I figured it was a good chance for me to experience
life in the South.

I completed both an M.A. in Public History (with a concentration in historic preservation)
and theCertificate in Museum Management. During my two years at the University of South Carolina, I prepared a report on
Georgian garden conservatories during England Field School, designed interpretive
panels for an old jail in Charleston, got my hands dirty volunteering at an archaeological
excavation, and prepared chapters for a historic furnishings plan for the National
Park Service, among many other activities. I also spent hours and hours reading, writing,
and researching alongside the Ph.D. students, being trained as a historian. I found
the public history and museum communities in South Carolina to be very warm and eager
to involve students. Moreover, it was due to the History Department's support of conference
travel that I was able to attend a conference in Alaska and meet my future employers.

Now I am the Curator of Collections at theBaranov Museumin Kodiak, Alaska. I am responsible for collections care, research, and exhibition
development. The Baranov Museum is in the oldest Russian-built structure in the nation,
and is the oldest log structure on the West Coast, meaning that I get to combine both
my historic preservation background with the knowledge gained through the Certificate
in Museum Management. I am also on the board of directors for the Alaska Historical
Society. I am still engaged in projects that I started while at the University of
South Carolina, including Exhibiting Local Enterprise. It brings me great joy to know
that my classmates and professors at South Carolina are now colleagues with whom I
can continue to collaborate.

Evan Kutzler (2012)

I grew up in Franklin, Tennessee and studied history at Centre College in Danville,
Kentucky. As I researched Ph.D. programs in American history, the University of South
Carolina appealed to me because it allowed Ph.D. students to focus on public history.
After being admitted, I chose to pursue the M.A. in Public History, with a concentration
in historic preservation, because I wanted to receive as broad an education as possible.
Some of my most valuable public history experience included researching and writing
three nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and a digital history
project: helping to create a website aboutslavery and the origins of the University of South Carolina. Each of these projects was based in solid academic scholarship translated into tangible
and useful "products" for local communities and the general public. I am interested
in the new field of "sensory history" and wrote my M.A. thesis on the nonvisual sensory
experiences of prisoners during the American Civil War. I am currently continuing
my studies in the Ph.D. program, working on a dissertation on captivity and the senses.

I graduated from Furman University with a degree in history and a concentration in
Latin American studies. I planned to attend graduate school but wanted some working
experience before committing to additional education, so I spent a year in Anchorage
working for an Alaska Native Corporation. During that year, I recorded oral histories
related to traditional subsistence practices of communities in Prince William Sound.
I also worked with language preservation and other cultural history projects.

I loved the work in Alaska, working with different communities and decided to apply
for graduate programs in history. I chose the University of South Carolina in large
part because of its strong program in public history. I was accepted into the M.A./Ph.D.
program and thought I would study public history while pursuing traditional history.
One semester into the program, I switched directions entirely, choosing to earn an
M.A. in Public History with a focus on historic preservation. I knew I did not want
to teach history in a classroom setting, and once I became more familiar with public
history, I realized that was a better fit.

I had many great experiences at the University of South Carolina, both with classes
and internships. Memorable projects include researching and documentingAfrican-American land ownership in lower Richland County, interviewing Civilian Conservation Corps veterans, archiving the largest personal
collection of civil rights photographs in the state, and working with the Catawba
Reservation. The University of South Carolina's program gave me a great foundation
in academic history, while providing me with the necessary tools in public history.

When I finished graduate school I decided to move to the West Coast and try historical
consulting in Portland, Oregon. My former employer in Anchorage was my first client
for my new business:Alder, LLC. It took a couple years for me to have a steady stream of work, but now I have a
growing consulting business. I curate museum exhibits, write National Register of
Historic Places nominations and other commissioned histories for both companies and
individuals. My clients have included Oregon History Museum, Oregon Health & Science
University, Portland State University, The Salvation Army, Oregon Medical Association,
and others.

I came to South Carolina from colder northern climes: I grew up in the Twin Cities
metro area in Minnesota and received my undergraduate degree in history at Augustana
College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As an undergraduate, two key internships - with
a local museum and with the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
- showed me the possibilities for history to engage people outside the classroom and
that an M.A. degree would help me develop the specialized knowledge I needed in the
field. I dreamed of a cultural resource job with the National Park Service, but I
loved (and still love) academic research and writing. So, I chose the University of
South Carolina because its Public History Program was located within a history department,
and it had an historic preservation track, in-the-field graduate assistantships, and
a cross-disciplinaryCertificate in Historical Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management(which was well worth the extra semester). At South Carolina, the experiences that
stand out for me were the public engagement and team work in the historic preservation
practicum where weuncovered a forgotten chapter of African-American history, my internship withCongaree National Parkwhere I examined the relationship between nature and history, and my assistantship
at theSouth Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, as well as being a part of the social and intellectual community of the history
department. After graduating, I went home to Minnesota to begin my job search. I
was hired as a regional Historic Preservation Specialist for theSouth Dakota State Historic Preservation Officein Pierre, where I work with the National Register of Historic Places and rehabilitation
grant programs. I provide technical assistance to property owners, serve as liaison
to city preservation programs, and enjoy the vast horizon of the plains when traveling
to projects around the state.

I entered the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina straight
out of my undergraduate studies. South Carolina was where I also did my undergraduate
work majoring in history and English. I applied to the Public History Program for
many reasons but especially because I could focus on historic preservation while also
pursuing aCertificate in Museum Management. I wanted to make myself as marketable as possible while pursuing my interest in
studying all kinds of material culture, from objects to buildings. Also, the program's
emphasis on training its students in research and to be skilled historians was a major
factor in my decision. I had little professional experience working in public history
prior to graduate school. Two of my most important projects as an M.A. student were
working on a class project to create a website examining thehistory of slavery at the universityand designing wayside panels for the Mitchelville Freedom Park near Hilton Head. Both
were real-world projects that created professional products useful to public audiences.
As I was finishing up my degree and certificate, I was offered - and accepted - the
position of Curator of History at theSouth Carolina State Museum.

I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with
a double major in history and Spanish. Shortly after my college graduation I accepted
a year-long internship with the National Park Service at Fort Sumter National Monument
in Charleston, South Carolina. While working at this historic site, one of my co-workers
suggested I apply to the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina.
From my short time at Fort Sumter I had already come to learn that I wanted to pursue
a career in public history. What impressed me about the University of South Carolina
program were three things: the practical experience it offered through assistantships,
its strong academic foundation within the history department, and the specialized
courses taught by museum professionals and public historians. Upon graduating with
my M.A. in Public History, I became a full-time park guide atFort Sumter. With my concentration in the museums track of the program, I was also able to take
on collateral duties curating the park collections for Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie,
and the Charles Pinckney National Historical Site. In the summer of 2012, I moved
from Charleston to Washington, D.C. to accept another position with the National Park
Service, at theNational Mall and Memorial Parks.

As a Twin Cities native, I opted to stay close to home for undergraduate studies by
attending the University of Minnesota. Although I knew I wanted to major in history,
I did not discover my passion for public history until I took an upper-level course
that introduced students to the field. After installing my first exhibit through an
internship with a local historical society, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career
in museums.

I chose to attend the University of South Carolina because I wanted a program where
I could both specialize in public history and continue for a Ph.D. in American history.
The graduate history program at South Carolina has been a perfect match, as it has
provided me with an intellectual foundation for a career in both museums and the academy.
The courses I have taken, whether academic or public history focused, have directly
influenced my work in the field. For instance, I took an oral history course where
we learned the theories and best practices of conducting interviews. The following
summer I was able to implement what I learned in a real-world project: collecting
oral histories for an award-winning community history project withHistoric Columbia Foundation.

The graduate program has also afforded me many opportunities to work with both local
and national historical institutions. Under the direction of Dr. Allison Marsh, I
co-curated an exhibit at theMcKissick MuseumentitledImaging the Invisiblethat explored how technology has changed public understanding of the non-visible world.
I am also involved with the Exhibiting Local Enterprise project, a collaboration between
the University of South Carolina Public History Program and the Smithsonian National
Museum of American History. I am currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program and completing
my dissertation. I encourage anyone who is seeking a department with both a strong
curriculum in public history as well as a rigorous doctoral program to apply to the
University of South Carolina.

Lauren Safranek (2010)

I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., surrounded by wonderful museums. For
college, I left Washington for Ohio, where I earned a B.A. in creative writing and
history from Oberlin College. After graduation, I spent a year and a half working
as a volunteer, an intern, and a temporary employee at museums and archives in Martha's
Vineyard, Juneau, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. To work on my Spanish language
skills, I lived in Mexico for six months.

All of this travel and work persuaded me to pursue a career in public history. On
where to go for my graduate degree, I consulted the people I had come to know in the
museum community. I learned that the Public History Program at the University of South
Carolina enjoyed an excellent reputation, and it provided a good blend of academic
and practical training. I was accepted into the program and offered on-the-job training
through a graduate assistantship at the "Teaching American History" project at theSouth Carolina Department of Archives and History.

My time as a South Carolina graduate student started with a bang the summer before
my first year. I attended theEngland Field School,which was a wonderful introduction to my professors, to my fellow students, and to
the world of public history. During my last semester I took History and Theory of
Museums. Dr. Allison Marsh encouraged us to use the readings and discussions to shape
who we were going to be as public historians and to decide what we think a museum
ought to be and what its place should be in the community. The thoughts that developed
in that class affect me everyday as I work in the museum.

For my internship in the Public History Program, I spent a summer at the Smithsonian
Institution'sNational Museum of American History. That internship turned into a job for me after graduation from South Carolina. Shortly
thereafter, I transitioned into the job I now have as Project Coordinator ofAmericans All: The Immigration/Migration Initiative at the Smithsonian Institution. Check out theFacebook pageto keep up with our progress.

I fell in love with public history before I even knew what it was. I worked as a historic
interpreter, volunteered at a historical society, and participated in architectural
and archaeological field schools - and in every setting I found and shared the living,
breathing kind of history that felt conspicuously absent from my regular coursework.
After graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with dual majors in history
and anthropology, I knew I wanted to find a program where I could pursue my interest
in historic architecture without neglecting my knowledge of historical archaeology.
The University of South Carolina provided a unique opportunity for me to do just that:
I could earn both an M.A. in Public History and aCertificate in Historical Archaeology & Cultural Resource Management .

After a brief stint in Green AmeriCorps, I moved to South Carolina with expanded ideas
about the connections between historic preservation and environmental sustainability.
I pursued these ideas in myCharleston Field Schoolproject, examining two LEED historic restorations. Through two unusual assistantships
- one documenting an historic rice plantation that had been transformed into a wildlife
preserve in coastal South Carolina and another that documented a Depression-era aviation
hangar targeted for an urban rehabilitation project - I learned how to intensively
research a place through land records, maps, photographs, and historic newspapers.
I also discovered the joys (and summertime challenges) of surveying historic neighborhood
during an internship with the City of Columbia. This experience proved invaluable
when I participated in a survey of the university's antebellumbrick wallfor the "Slavery at South Carolina College" website developed by the Historic Site
Interpretation course. I rounded out my preservation experience with a second internship
at Santanoni Preserve in upstate New York by doing historic interpretation and learning
how to repair historic wood windows.

My diverse experiences helped me gain a better understanding of historic preservation
as a field, and expanded my idea of the many different ways to be a historian. My
coursework in public archaeology and CRM helped me become conversant in laws related
to many of the projects I work on as the architectural historian in the cultural resources
department atS&ME, Inc., an engineering firm in Columbia. The only historian among archaeologists, I enjoy
working in the fast-paced environment while evaluating historic structures and writing
historical reports for private companies.